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Monthly Archives: November 2018

  1. Off-Road to Recovery - Coolant Filter Kit R&D, Part 1: Start to Finish

    Off-Road to Recovery - Coolant Filter Kit R&D, Part 1: Start to Finish

    This 2012-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK Coolant Filter Kit is now available! Click here to check it out!

    For an automotive enthusiast, caring for your vehicle is tantamount to caring for yourself. An enthusiast's vehicle is part of the family and it's treated as such. When that vehicle happens to be a Jeep Wrangler, maintenance and modification can become nearly ritualistic. Check tire pressures, coolant level, and engine oil. Hit the trail, break something, upgrade the broken part so that it doesn't break again. Rinse, and repeat. From the outside, it looks like a constant battle of man against machine, but the enthusiast knows that it's more like a conversation among friends. You tell your Jeep what you want to do, it does it and then tells you what it needs in return.

    But not every Wrangler/enthusiast relationship is so amicable. For many 2012-2018 JK Wrangler owners with the 3.6L Pentastar engine, that relationship is contaminated from the beginning. Literally.

    If

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  2. Keep the Good Times Rolling - Direct-Fit Catch Can R&D, Part 1 - Concept and Prototype

    Keep the Good Times Rolling - Direct-Fit Catch Can R&D, Part 1 - Concept and Prototype

    Hyundai may have never been a brand synonymous with producing the driver's car. Their models are often used as some sort of punchline to illustrate what we gearheads don't want in our cars. There have been some contenders throughout the years to ward off the bad jokes, but the quirky, asymmetrical Veloster that followed the Genesis earns the most credit for injecting new energy into Hyundai's image. Its release had us all thinking that the real spirited driving experience finally made its way to the well-known manufacturer.

    While the Genesis Coupe might be a piece of Hyundai History now, the Veloster continues to deliver the sporty flair to the car maker's lineup.
    While the Genesis Coupe might be a piece of Hyundai History now, the Veloster still delivers
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  3. Prepare for  Adventure - Catch Can R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    Prepare for Adventure - Catch Can R&D, Part 1: Stock Review

    "What's the point?" A question commonly asked by those who see cars and trucks solely as a means to get from point A to point B, from where they are to where they want to be. Those people look at a Ferrari and a Camry the same way. There are speed limits and traffic, so what's the point of having a fast car? They look at off-road capable vehicles and ask, "What's the point?" We have roads and highways that get you wherever you need to go, why would you ever want to leave them? What those people miss, however, is that with the right vehicle, every inch of Earth is your road, and any drive can be a journey. No vehicle better embodies that idea than the Jeep Wrangler.

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    Any Jeep owner knows that one of the greatest rewards of driving a Jeep is that it can turn a simple journey into an adventure. But

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  4. Hot-Blooded - Direct-Fit Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2 - Dyno Testing

    Hot-Blooded - Direct-Fit Oil Cooler R&D, Part 2 - Dyno Testing

    It is prime plague season, especially in the Mid-Atlantic. The transition into winter wreaks havoc on our frail and feeble immune systems. There's a nip in the air, sinuses are congested, and fevers are running high. The Civic Type R might have a bit of a runny nose, and prone to fevers, but much like checking into the local urgent care to quell those telltale cold symptoms, Dr. Mishi is in to reduce the high temps on your FK8.

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    Now, big pharma companies don't just have something that looks good on paper and then start dispersing pills to the public. There's a seriously rigorous testing and trials period that they need to go through to bring medications to market. We have a similar state

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  5. Going the Distance - Aluminum Degas Tank, Part 3: Prototype

    Going the Distance - Aluminum Degas Tank, Part 3: Prototype

    One of the hardest aspects of design is often knowing when to stop and take a step back. Failure is never fun, but we've learned that failure is just the beginning of a better design. Nothing is a complete failure, it's just another step forward.

    When we last saw our 2008-2010 Ford 6.4L Powerstroke aluminum degas tank, it had become a mess of extra parts that didn't add any value for our customers. Thanks to Ford's design team, who apparently didn't know when to stop, our degas tank was trying to be a degas tank, battery tray, and vacuum chamber. All of this was in an attempt to keep our customers from having to cut their degas tank from the battery tray. After building a prototype that combined all three components, we decided to change course. All the extra components had turned our simple degas tank into an expensive monstrosity. We turned to the forums for some perspective.

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  6. Intercooler Sandwich - Performance Intercooler R&D, Part 6 - Production Sample

    Intercooler Sandwich - Performance Intercooler R&D, Part 6 - Production Sample

    We last left you off with the scaffold and tales of what our new intercooler design would be. Now it's time to put our money where our mouth is since the production sample of our new MK7 intercooler has arrived here at Mishimoto. This arrival gives us the tangible fruits of our prototyping labors.

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    Typically, these new intercooler production samples show up like a wrecking ball. No, not like a scantily clad Miley Cyrus, but rather with size-doubling volume increases figuratively smashing the stock unit to smithereens. This time around, though, given our extremely tight build envelope, our new design might look mostly the same to some. We can assure you that much like the subtle outward appearance of the MK7 GTI and Golf R,

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  7. Feel Good Drag - A Day at the Drag Strip with Turn 14

    Feel Good Drag - A Day at the Drag Strip with Turn 14

    So many companies out there have some sort of initiative to keep their employees beaming and happy. They naturally want to boost morale and build community. Things like bonus programs, free snacks and coffee, and periodic company-wide outings are part of what helps people fuel up each day and arrive charged, ready to floor it. When a particular company happens to be a behemoth in distributing automotive performance parts, an outing isn't something as simple as a comped night at Chili's. That wouldn't suit a car enthusiast. Instead, it ends up being a day trip ripping down the drag strip at Maple Grove Raceway.

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